The retail delivery service Instacart plans to begin ferrying goods from local stores to Springfieldians later this month, continuing a trend of grocery-delivery companies opening up shop.

Citing "an overwhelming volume of requests for expansion," Instacart announced it will begin operating in Springfield and Battlefield on Aug. 15.

"We work with a variety of local retailers to provide the freshest, highest quality groceries to our customers," said Instacart official Sapna Mitchell in a statement. "Launching in Springfield gives us an opportunity to expand service in Missouri. We’re also excited to build a world class shopper community, where we can offer fun and flexible income earning opportunities for our shoppers, who ultimately deliver this amazing service to the community."

Instacart works like this: Customers use the company's website (instacart.com) or mobile app and fill a virtual shopping cart with items of their choice. Then, they choose a delivery window ranging from within an hour to five days out, and they check out.

Instacart's paid shoppers accept the order on their smartphones and rely on Instacart's app to guide them up and down the aisles of stores like Hy-Vee or CVS — similar to how Lyft and Uber drivers use accept ride requests before traversing the roads.

An Instacart representative noted that shoppers could use the code HISPRINGFIELDMO at checkout. This promo takes $20 off an order of $35 or more and includes free first-time delivery.

Orders must be $10 or more, according to Instacart's website. On orders of $35 or more, there is a delivery fee of $5.99, unless customers sign up for the company's Instacart Express subscription. Transactions during high-traffic hours may incur a "busy pricing" delivery fee.

Instacart shoppers can earn $20 to $30 on average for delivering a "batch" of three grocery orders, a company spokeswoman said. Shoppers can choose which orders to accept or reject, can set their own schedules and are not subject to minimum-hours requirements, according to the spokeswoman.

Hy-Vee also has partnered with another retail delivery company, Shipt, which is membership-based. And Shipt has announced a partnership with Target that began in Springfield in May, according to a news release.